Effect of processing and storage on the fatty acid composition of n‐3 or n‐6 fatty acid‐enriched eggs

Fresh eggs from hens fed diets supplemented with 4% linseed oil (LO) or sunflower oil (SO) were either directly submitted to pasteurisation, hard‐boiling or scrambling processing, or first submitted to refrigerated storage at 4 °C for 60 day and then to processing. Fresh LO eggs showed higher (P ≤ 0.05) proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), but lower (P ≤ 0.05) proportions of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), PUFAs and n‐6 PUFAs than the SO eggs. Storage decreased (P ≤ 0.05) the proportion of PUFAs and increased (P ≤ 0.05) that of MUFAs in egg yolks from both treatments. The pasteurisation process had no effect on the fatty acid composition of fresh eggs from both treatments, but increased (P ≤ 0.05) n‐6 PUFAs and decreased (P ≤ 0.05) n‐3 PUFAs in stored LO eggs. Hard‐boiling and scrambling modified the fatty acid composition of fresh and stored eggs from both treatments by decreasing (P ≤ 0.05) the proportion of PUFAs, particularly of the very long‐chain n‐3 eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic PUFAs. LO eggs showed a higher susceptibility to fatty acid modification upon processing as compared to the SO eggs.     

Salt effects on Origanum majorana fatty acid and essential oil composition

BACKGROUND: The effects of salt on the essential oil yield and fatty acid composition of aerial parts of two marjoram varieties were investigated. Plants with 6 leaves were treated with NaCl (75mM). RESULTS: Salt treatment led to a reduction in aerial part growth. Salinity increased the fatty acid content more significantly in Tunisian variety (TV) than in Canadian variety (CV). CV showed an increase in double‐bond index (DBI) and a decrease in malondialdehyde content under salt stress, while the opposite was observed in TV. The DBI was mainly affected by a strong reduction in oleic and linoleic acids in TV, whereas a strong stimulation of linoleic acid in CV was observed. Salt decreased and increased the essential oil yield in TV and CV respectively. The main constituents of the essential oil of TV were trans‐hydrate sabinene and terpinen‐4‐ol, which showed a significant decrease under salt stress. In contrast, the main constituents of the essential oil of CV were sabinene and trans‐hydrate sabinene, which showed a significant decrease and increase respectively under salt stress. CONCLUSION: Marjoram oil is a rich source of many compounds such as essential oils and fatty acids, but the distribution of these compounds differed significantly between the two varieties studied. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Simulated changes in fatty acid intake in humans through n‐3 fatty acid enrichment of foods from animal origin

The ratio of n‐6 over n‐3 fatty acids (FA) in the Western diet is today on average between 10 and 15, while evidence suggests that humans would benefit substantially from a more balanced intake. Different strategies to reverse this trend can potentially be adopted. This paper explores the effect of n‐3 enrichment at the level of primary animal production on human FA intake. Consumption data from adolescents were linked to ‘currently available’ and to simulated ‘enriched’ FA profiles of foods from animal origin (by feeding α‐linolenic‐rich diets to pigs, dairy and beef cattle, and broiler and layer chickens). Under enriched conditions, population intakes for α‐linolenic acid and for all n‐3 FA shifted to recommended values. For long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated FA, the favourable trend in intake was not sufficient to meet recommendations. The effect on other FA was small. The n‐6/n‐3 ratio decreased considerably from an average value of 6.6 to 4.6. It is concluded that feasible and realistic n‐3 FA enrichments of foods from animal origin can add substantially to the overall efforts for reducing the n‐6/n‐3 intake ratio in the population. However, foods rich in long‐chain n‐3 FA remain essential in the human diet under such conditions. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Concentration of Omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids by polymeric membrane

Omega‐3 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), which is an essential nutrient for health. Through this, the ω3‐PUFA concentration has increasingly gained interest. In this study, the concentration of ω3‐PUFA of Lantern fish oil was investigated through utilisation of membrane separation. Between tested membranes, it was observed that ETNA01PP separates ω3‐PUFA more selectively. Additionally, effects of main parameters affecting the ω3‐PUFA concentration, including temperature (20–40 °C), pressure (3–5 bar) and stirring rate (0–200 rpm), were evaluated through Box–Behnken design of experiment. According to anova , all these parameters showed significant impact on ω3‐PUFA concentration. To determine the optimal process parameters, the Derringer's desirability prediction tool was employed in which the highest ω3‐PUFA concentration of 35.1058 wt. % was estimated. The obtained optimal condition was found to be the temperature of 36.19 °C, pressure of 4.82 bar and stirring rate of 43.01 rpm with a desirability value of 0.99.     

Documentation of fatty acid profiles in lamb meat and lamb-based infant foods

Lamb meat, when used in the weaning diet of children, is presumed to have a lower allergenicity than other forms of red meat. In children with atopic dermatitis and multiple food hypersensitivities, consumption of lamb meat has also resulted in significant clinical improvements in the severity of the eczematous lesions. Lamb meat is also of special interest in infant nutrition because it provides a somewhat unique fatty acid (FA) profile that mirrors what is thought to be optimal for neonatal growth and development. However, very little is known about how the processing of fresh meat (FM) into prepared infant foods influences its FA composition. In this study, we compared the FA profile of FM from suckling lambs with those of homogenized (HO) and lyophilized (LIO) baby foods prepared primarily with lamb meat. The results show that the content of total omega-3 polyunsaturated FAs was the highest in FM (more than 3-fold) compared to commercial baby food, due to largely higher contents of α-linolenic acid (1.5-fold higher), eicosapentaenoic acid (6-fold higher), and docosahexaenoic acid (10-fold higher). Furthermore, arachidonic acid was more than 6-fold higher in FM compared to LIO and HO. Results from this study suggest the possibility of enhancing the FA profile of commercial baby food based on meat by using lamb meat, but care should be taken during processing so that important FAs are not lost. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In this article, we have documented that meat from the suckling lamb is an interesting and potentially important source of omega-3-FAs, especially some of the long-chain polyunsaturated FAs (LC-PUFAs) that are essential for optimal neonatal growth and development. These results may have special implications to the infant food industry, in that products made using meat from suckling lambs may provide not only exceptional amounts of these FAs, but also other limiting essential nutrients such as iron. This may be especially important in regions of the world, such as Italy, where use of lamb meat as a weaning food is common during infancy.     

Facilitative effects of Eucommia ulmoides on fatty acid oxidation in hypertriglyceridaemic rats

BACKGROUND: Tea made from Eucommia ulmoides leaves is widely consumed as a health food, since recent studies have revealed various pharmacological effects of the tea, e.g. a hypotriglyceridaemic effect. This study was conducted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the plasma triglyceride‐lowering effect of E. ulmoides leaves. RESULTS: Rats were divided into four groups: a normal group, a group fed a high‐fat/high‐fructose diet (untreated group) and two groups fed a high‐fat/high‐fructose diet and E. ulmoides tea (4 or 20 g L^?1 extract, treated groups). Plasma triglyceride concentrations were reduced in treated groups in a dose‐dependent manner compared with the untreated group. DNA microarray analysis revealed that genes involved in hepatic α‐, β‐ and ω‐oxidation, mainly related to the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α and δ signalling pathway, were up‐regulated in the treated group. High‐performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that E. ulmoides leaves contain three phytochemicals that make up 60 mg g^?1 of the material and are likely to be the active components. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the promotion of fatty acid oxidation, probably by the action of phytochemicals, participates in the ameliorative effect of E. ulmoides leaves on hypertriglyceridaemia. These findings provide the scientific evidence for the functionality of E. ulmoides. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of plant antioxidant in n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid–enriched diet on fatty acid composition and sensorial attributes of dry‐cured ham

Three groups of eight pigs (52.6–109.0 kg BW) were fed a high level of n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; L diet). Two cocktails of plant antioxidants were added separately to L diet (LAox1, LAox2). Fatty acid composition, lipoperoxidation and sensory evaluations were carried out on dry‐cured hams. No effect of dietary antioxidant was observed on total saturated, monounsaturated, n‐6 and total PUFA. Antioxidant supplementation significantly decreased the total n‐3 PUFA proportion in LAox1 and LAox2 products (6.75% and 7.08% of total FA, respectively) as compared to L (8.06%). However, C18:3n‐3 content of all products varied from 308 to 394 mg per 100 g without any dietary effect (P > 0.05). The supplementation with natural antioxidant significantly reduced the malondialdehyde content of dry‐cured ham (5.7–5.6 μg g^?1 for Laox1 and Laox2, respectively, vs. 10.2 μg g^?1 for L). Sensory evaluation of dry‐cured ham revealed no significant difference for all the tested attributes between treatments.